brown sugar buttermilk cake with fresh blackberries

If I could write lines to a parody of Sh*t Girls Say for Sh*t Food Bloggers Say, they would go something like this:

“No you may not eat that slice of cake! I haven’t taken a picture of it yet!”

“We are eating dinner tonight at 3 p.m. because the light is better. Get hungry!”

“Hey! I need you to stop watching TV – like right NOW – and pour this batter into that pan for me so that I can get an action shot.”

“Thank you for letting us use your car to go upstate for a wedding over the weekend. Here is this bundt I made for you but please ignore that it has a slice missing. I had to eat a piece for “research” and for “photographic purposes”.

That last one is truly the story of my life.

The moment I set foot down the path of baked good overload a.k.a. writing a blog, I always seem to have an abundance of baked goods but they are never quite in perfect post-oven form. Once I gave away a whole cake which I had first cut a slice out of, took some photos, then replaced the slice and pretended like nothing had happened.

Luckily I was able to re-frost it and no one even knew. Until now.

Better to share half a cake with friends than no cake at all, right?

Speaking of which, this cake is exactly the cake to be shared with friends – even if you sneak one slice first.

Brown sugar and buttermilk are two of my favorite things – second and third only to bourbon – and highlighting them both in a cake has been a long overdue mission. I have been dreaming of an everyday cake like this made with oil to be sure there wouldn’t be any time spent waiting for a certain something to come to room temperature. A subtle hint of cinnamon adds spice and maple syrup rounds out the sweetness of the brown sugar. Fresh berries are the final touch but really any fruit will work if it is cut small. Diced strawberries, tiny bits of nectarines, or omit the fruit all together and toss in chopped spiced pecans. Have you been needing an easy, super versatile, backyard picnic bundt for the summer months?

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter a bundt pan and dust the sides with flour. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl stir together the buttermilk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk mixture all at once.

Combine using several quick strokes but before everything gets mixed together add the berries – crushing about half slightly with your fingers as they are sprinkled into the batter – then finish mixing with several more strokes to fully combine. Be careful not to overmix and it is okay if a few streaks of flour remain.

Pour evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake rest in the pan for 30-45 minutes (this helps to ensure that half your bundt doesn’t decide to stay in the pan). Turn out onto a pretty plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This is the perfect cake to get your bundt groove back [pun intended! Ha!] Some tips that work: really butter up the pan (use a tablespoon or two) and a few tablespoons of flour to coat it well. Then let the cooked cake rest a full 30 minutes before releasing. You should be good to go! Happy baking!!

Making a bundt cake is one of the more satisfying things in a baker’s life (or at least this baker’s life). Golden brown, perfectly formed, substantial, elegant, yet unassuming. And buttermilk…it can help http://vimeo.com/2100891

I love this recipe! I did have a question though…I am a maple syrup fanatic so could I cut back on the brown sugar and increase the quantity of maple syrup? Also, I use organic maple syrup exclusively now…I changed over a little while ago as I find the taste to be so much better and it’s healthier as well. Do you find the same? I know it can be hard to find but I get mine online at a site called http://www.rougemaple.com …it’s from Quebec Canada and I love the taste. Please let me know when you get a chance. Thank you.

Yes – I love organic maple syrup! What about using maple sugar in place of some of the brown sugar? You could cut back on the brown sugar a bit, but you’d also have to cut back on the other liquid ingredients as well. 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and 3/4 cup buttermilk may be a good place to start. I’d love to hear how it turns out! Thank you for that awesome link as well!

This looks awasome! What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I think I’m gonna try Teramo’s idea with Organic Maple Syrup, to give it a ‘Quebec’ flavor! (I just went on that cool rouge site…thanks for the tip!)

Looks delicious! A photo on pinterest led me here. Could you tell me anything about the bundt pan you use here? (Brand/material/etc?) I love the shape of it and the fact that it looks like it doesn’t have a nonstick interior (something I prefer to avoid). Thank you!

I know I’m a year late reading this, but I wanted you to know that I’m a new fan. Tried this cake today, foe my husband’s birthday. Gave it a slathering of caramel icing. Mmmm. King-o, the Hubs, really liked it. Moist, just a bit of tart from the blackberries. Delish!